AUSTIN, Texas -- Her name is Maggie Ellis, and while she is an attorney and is familiar with the politics of the justice system, she wants to do something more. This time, she wants to make a difference by getting elected as a judge. If she wins, she could end up making history.
- Attorney Maggie Ellis running for 200th Civil District Court judge
- Overcame parent abandonment, poverty
- Needs to win March 2020 primary to advance
“Growing up I was very ashamed of my childhood. We were very transient. I went to nine elementary schools all over the place,” said Ellis.
Ellis and her sister were abandoned by their mother and lived through a brief period of homelessness.
“This little angel is my baby sister who has also been my daughter for the last 30 years,” Ellis said, leafing through a photo album.
Ellis always maintained a desire for better outcomes and aspirations of public service never wavered.
“It took me about 16 years to work my way through college. I graduated from UT with a degree in education, then I worked as a teacher. I volunteered a lot. I was a foster mom and then I decided I wanted to help kids and families who were like me,” she said.
As a Travis County attorney, Ellis understands the justice system, how it operates and who it affects.
“I’ve handled over 2,000 cases in the civil courts. I have a lot of courtroom experience,” she said.
To her, perhaps the most valuable asset didn’t come from a law degree but from real-life experience.
“You talk about being 22 years old and being a single mom with an infant and a 2-year-old and raising my baby sister all by myself and really struggling and trying to get her through high school and put myself through college and saying 'You’re going to do it. Just keep working and don’t give up. You’re going to do it,'" she said.
Ellis is running for the 200th Civil District Court, which is currently presided by the Honorable Judge Dustin Howell. Before facing anyone on the Republican side she will have to come out on top in the March primary next year. Should she win, Ellis says she stands to become to first openly lesbian judge and first person to have experienced homelessness.